JOHN I / ANONYMOUS BRONZE AE28 FOLLIS______Bust of Christ_______BYZANTINE EMPIRE

Description

19Z011
FRASCATIUS ANCIENTS
A BEAUTIFUL ANONYMOUS BRONZE FOLLIS MINTED IN THE REIGN OF JOHN I TZIMISCES FROM 969 - 976 AD .
SEAR CLASS A1 FOLLIS
John I strengthened the empire by coupling diplomatic skill with military strength.
THE SIZE IS 28.2 MM AND 8.09 GRAMS.
Sear 1793
OBVERSE – Nimbate bust of Christ Emmanuel facing, holding book of the Gospels
REVERSE – IhSuS / KRISTuS / bASILEu / bASILE (Jesus Christ, King of Kings) in four lines
John I Tzimisces, (born 925—died Jan. 10, 976, Constantinople), Byzantine emperor (969–976) whose extension of Byzantine influence into the Balkans and Syria and maintenance of domestic tranquillity assured the prestige and stability of the empire for his immediate successors.
Descended from an aristocratic Armenian family, John was related through his mother to the general, and later emperor, Nicephorus II Phocas. He entered the imperial army and fought with Nicephorus against the Arabs in Cilicia and Syria. Having helped Nicephorus gain the throne, he was rewarded with the supreme command of Byzantine forces in the East. His ambition for the throne later led him into the conspiracy with his mistress, Theophano (the Emperor’s wife), that led to the assassination of Nicephorus in December 969. Forced to do penance by Polyeuctus, patriarch of Constantinople, in order to receive the imperial crown, John banished Theophano to a convent and punished the murderers.
John I strengthened the empire by coupling diplomatic skill with military strength. In 970 he married Theodora, sister of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, the legitimate claimant to the throne, to offset challenges to his rule at home. When the Bulgars attacked the empire in 971, he led his forces against their capital, captured their tsar, and forced them to recognize Byzantine suzerainty. In July 971 he defeated the Russian prince Svyatoslav, ending threats to Byzantine rule in the north. To preserve the Byzantine position in the West, he arranged a marriage between one of his relatives and the future Holy Roman emperor Otto II. Turning to the East, he reduced the Fa?imid strength around Antioch in 974–975, taking Antioch, Damascus, and other cities in Syria. Before he could retake Jerusalem he died, probably of typhoid.
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